"Natural justice demands that Christine Rankin should step down from disciplinary proceedings against the WINZ manager she alleges misled her into approving expensive chartered flights to Wairakei for a staff training conference," Labour spokesperson on employment Steve Maharey said today.

"Labour agrees with the worker's lawyer, Peter Cullen, that his client is at risk of being scape-goated by Christine Rankin and that it is therefore inappropriate that she be involved in the hearings.

"Mrs Rankin's account of events is confusing and has been vigorously contested by the worker. She first said she had been misled about the cost of the flights. Then she said she had signed off $126,000 of the $165,000 bill.

"The approval of the $126,000 places her firmly in the frame. It follows that she should not be in a position to judge her subordinate's performance because she has a personal interest in ensuring that the subordinate bears responsibility for the mistake in judgement.

"To ensure fairness two things need to happen: The disciplinary proceeding should be put in the hands of a neutral third person and Mrs Rankin should be stood down until it is completed," Mr Maharey said.

"Labour has already called for her suspension during the one week inquiry being conducted by the Audit Office and the State Services Commission. I repeat this call today," Mr Maharey said.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>